The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive. ... Image File history File links Ardea_cinerea_2_(Marek_Szczepanek). ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Myxozoa (slime animals) Superphylum Deuterostomia (blastopore becomes anus) Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... {{{subdivision_ranks}}} See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Families Ardeidae Cochlearidae Balaenicipitidae Scopidae Ciconiidae Threskiornithidae Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. ... Genera See text The Ardeidae family of birds is the heron, egret and bittern family of wading birds. ... Species Many: see text Ardea is a genus of herons. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Genera See text. ...

Description

The Grey Heron is a large bird, standing 1 m tall, and it has a 1.5 m wingspan. It is the largest European heron. Its plumage is largely grey above, and off-white below. It has a powerful yellow bill, which is brighter in breeding adults. It has a slow flight, with its long neck retracted (S-shaped). This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes and spoonbills, which extend their necks. Two feathers Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. ... † see also: Heron The bitterns are members of the heron family Ardeidae. ... Genera See text. ... Genera Grus Anthropoides Balearica Bugeranus Cranes are large, long-legged with large talons and long-necked birds of the order Gargoyles, and family Gruesome killers. ... Genera and Species See text Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises. ...

Grey Heron in flight

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1104x772, 361 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Grey Heron Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1104x772, 361 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Grey Heron Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to...

Distribution

Grey Herons in Europe

Light Green: Summer
Dark Green: All Year
Blue: Winter The Grey Heron is common throughout temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions. Image File history File links GreyHeron-Europe. ... Image File history File links GreyHeron-Europe. ... For other senses of this word, see winter (disambiguation). ... World map showing Europe Political map (neighbouring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... // Long-distance land bird migration Many species of land migratory birds migrate very long distances, the most common pattern being for birds to breed in the temperate or arctic northern hemisphere and winter in warmer regions, often in the tropics or the temperate zones of the southern hemisphere. ...

Behavior

This species breeds in colonies in trees close to lakes or other wetlands, although it will also nest in reed beds. It builds a bulky stick nest.

It feeds in shallow water, spearing fish or frogs with its long, sharp bill. Herons will also take small mammals and birds. It will often wait motionless for prey, or slowly stalk its victim. The Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. ... Distribution of frogs (in black) Suborders Archaeobatrachia Mesobatrachia Neobatrachia - List of Anuran families The frog is an amphibian in the order Anura (meaning tail-less from Greek an-, without + oura, tail). ... Orders Multituberculata (extinct) Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Australosphenida Ausktribosphenida Monotremata Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Arctostylopida (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Cingulata Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Leptictida (extinct) Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata...

The call is a loud croaking "fraaank".

This species is very similar to the American Great Blue Heron. The Australian White-faced Heron is often incorrectly called Grey Heron. Binomial name Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 The Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common all over North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos, except in deserts and high mountains where there is no water for... Binomial name Egretta novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) The White-faced Heron, (Egretta novaehollandiae, formerly Ardea novaehollandiae) often known incorrectly as the Grey Heron, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand, the islands of the sub-Antarctic, and all but...

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Ardea_cinerea

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Ardea cinerea. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

External links

• Grey Heron videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) Photos
• Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) at takeoff photoen:Cangak abu